Zendesk has inaugurated a new Research and Development Innovation Hub in Pune, strengthening its presence in India and expanding its global product development capabilities.
The Pune Innovation Hub is part of the company’s strategy to tap new talent pools and deepen collaboration across international teams. With this launch, Pune becomes one of Zendesk’s global growth centres, with the local team set to expand in both scale and strategic relevance.
The hub will play a central role in advancing AI-powered solutions, especially those linked to the Zendesk Resolution Platform. It brings together Product Management, UX Design, Engineering and Service Reliability Engineers under one roof, enabling end-to-end ownership of global product roadmaps.
Teams at the centre manage critical components across the technology stack, from core cloud infrastructure and platform services to advanced application layers.
A key focus area is the continued development of Zendesk’s Agent and Admin Workspaces, which form the foundation of its expanding Employee Service offering.
The team operates from ABIL Boulevard in Pune, in a workspace designed to encourage collaboration and innovation.
The Pune Hub currently employs nearly 300 professionals and is expected to grow by an additional 15 percent before the end of 2026. The workforce largely consists of engineers and complements Zendesk’s sales and support teams serving customers across India, including brands in B2B technology, retail, e-commerce and travel.
“In an AI-accelerated world, the landscape of innovation shifts by the day and the establishment of our Pune Innovation Hub represents strategic acceleration. The team is built for agility and scale, enabling us to deliver meaningful advancements to our customers faster than ever before,” said Shashi Upadhyay, President of Product, Engineering and AI at Zendesk.
He added, “India has evolved from a support hub into a strategic engine for innovation. By establishing this function, we are moving beyond execution to full ownership of global product roadmaps. And this facility is a cornerstone of our smart global footprint, providing the high-caliber collaboration space necessary to drive our global vision of AI-led service excellence worldwide.”
The Pune team is led by Vinod Shah, Vice President of Software Engineering, who brings over 24 years of experience in leading end-to-end product development focused on scalable and customer-centric software.
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